A long-standing dream of mine---and most people, I suppose---is to be wealthy. I guess the easiest way to insane wealth is to somehow win the lottery. I mention this because the Mega Millions lottery drawing scheduled for this Friday has reached $476,000,000.
Now, let us say you won this amount of money, and you chose to take the lump-sum payout, and you ended up with $100,000,000 in your bank account. In other words, you are now insanely rich.
What to do? Ahhh....there's the problem. Truly, THERE is the problem.
"But Oh!", you say, "That is a problem I could handle!"
Could you, now.......
Incredibly, it seems a very high percentage of winners go on to have miserable lives after winning a huge payout. They somehow cannot handle it. I think a part of that is the emotional overload that occurs when an enormous change happens in one's life. It seems not many folks calmly secure the services of a really good investment firm and conservatively obtain strong holdings.
No, apparently folks generally go wild and make emotional mistakes that lead to ....... bankruptcy, divorce, heartache, destroyed friendships, etc.
I really don't know how I would spend/invest that money. But I do know this---I would want to give a goodly portion of it to a favorite charity/cause. I just am not sure what that would be. I would really have to think about that.
And, the fact is, while I don't have near enough money in retirement (who does?), I do have all I really need. I have love. I have happiness. I have health. I have Jesus. I don't need more than that.
Here is what I would do immediately:
---change our phone numbers
---change our internet contact information
---set up a methodology for exploring which causes to support and other investment possibilities
---Get out of town for a couple weeks to escape the hoopla surrounding our newfound status as wealthy folk. Ha.
How would you spend your $100,000,000?
Call these the music, poetry, fact and fiction of a dreamer....Call this LYRICS of LOVE and LORE.
Aren't we all dreaming about this - kind of fun to think about. I would give to charity too. I would pay off my bills. Help my family and travel. Then give gifts around the world! sandie
ReplyDeleteDear husband, you and I are in agreement! ♥ It would be "interesting" to experience the behavior of immediate family members who presently would not give you the time of day!
ReplyDeleteImagine, after your neighbors learned of your winnings on the local news, they might actually "SPEAK" to you!.
It would be wonderful to be able to spend endless amounts of money on some legal matters that require my attention.
And then there is the subject of "wonderful" and "faithful" friends who suddenly would desire to "friend" you again. he he Maybe the cousin who never returned my call after 35 years would want to speak to me!
Jeepers! This is getting to be too much fun, I gotta get our of here ... {;~}
I could think of 100,000,000 ways!
ReplyDeleteacreage with a huge stone fence surrounding the entire place. gifts of money to family and friends. animal charities. medical research.
ReplyDeleteOff the top, the first check would go to our church. After that...hmmm. We're pretty content with what we have, so I'd have to think about that some. It would be fun, though-
ReplyDeleteSo much to think about!
ReplyDelete1) donate to a worthy cause like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
2) buy land, land, land (preferrably with a cave on it)
3) or buy an old missle silo and convert it into a home for
my family (extended family). Can we say "doomsday bunker."
4) Hummers all around (or maybe a tank or two).
Need I go on????
That's of course if I live that long. Not my decision to make.
Well for a start Clint I would help my three children (even though son no.1 is still not talking) Put some money away for the grandchildren for when they're older. Tear up my credit cards.
ReplyDeleteBuy a home of my own just big enough for my needs and travel. As you have guessed I love travelling. I would also help Daniel's charity The Romanian Orphans. I used to do poetry postcards years ago and raised quite a few thousands pounds sterling , It was wonderful to see how my little bit helped.
But after writing all that wealth is not everything , my family are important to me and trying to stay healthy is worth all the money.
Yvonne.
LOL. I think many of us fantasize about what we would do, Many who win huge amounts also spend it within a year or so and are left with nothing. God tells us we can't serve him and money. We prod along each day and live on what we have and enjoy life much more because we are thankful...and that is the true secret of a happy. life.
ReplyDeleteOh wow...first of all I would tell it nobody and I would live my life as before.
ReplyDeletebut
I would donate to a animal shelter near by my place and I would invite some friends to have the chance to come to the island
But for sure....I am not winning, but it's a nice dream.
Greetings and take care my friend
Share share share I have no need for all that money it can drive people crazy LOL. B
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the emotional overload. Being instantly rich just doesn't compute in most minds.
ReplyDeleteYou're also right about being content. It's the greatest place to spend the rest of our lives!
Interest, thought provoking post, Clint.
Blessings...
Lidia
You're right about the emotional overload. Being instantly rich just doesn't compute in most minds.
ReplyDeleteYou're also right about being content. It's the greatest place to spend the rest of our lives!
Interest, thought provoking post, Clint.
Blessings...
Lidia
I am rich. God showed me a long time ago, that wealth was a state of mind. Money has nothing to do with it. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, I have health, I have Jesus. A clerk asked me if I wanted to buy a lottery ticket once, I asked him why? He said power ball was somewhere up there in the millions. I told him no, I might win! I meant it, he looked at me like I was the crazy one!
ReplyDeletehmmm..you know...being rich has never really been a desire... maybe I'm fooling myself...but I have know idea what I would do... My life is so rich... now..I would like someone to clean my house...but I probably would have to redo it anyways...so why bother...I'll just keep on doing it...
ReplyDeleteWow!you are so crazy.It is also very defficult.
ReplyDeleteDad,
ReplyDeleteDebbie and i love you regardless if you are rich or poor.